


Sojourn

by AstraKiseki



Category: Exalted
Genre: Age Difference, F/M, Mortals, Sidereals, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-02-14
Updated: 2012-02-14
Packaged: 2017-10-31 03:43:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/339514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AstraKiseki/pseuds/AstraKiseki





	Sojourn

_Thirty years._   
  
Had it really been that span of time? She had been in the Wyld for years, distorting her sense of time, but _thirty?_ A part of her felt it long, the part of her still mortal, the other part, the Journeys within her considered it little more than a blink of an eye. There she was again at the shore, her pink toes in the sand, the wind in her red-gold hair, staring out at the sand before she had even dreamed of going across the sea.   
  
"... Saffy?"   
  
Saffy, she had been just that once, not Saffron Aster. He couldn't have, not after thirty years. It was impossible. Arcane Fate should have wiped his memory away like so much sand against the tide.  
  
She had faced fearsome behemoths, dueled against the Fair Folk, wielding her own self-forged Graces, traveled in the darkest paths of the Deep Wyld, woven destinies against creatures that would leave most Sidereals weeping in terror. And yet, there they stood in silence, her back to _him_ , unable to turn to the man she had married back when she had been young, before she had taken a single step.   
  
The Harbinger could hear each footfall in the soft sand, matching the fifth pulse of her rapidly beating heart, and yet she couldn't run, her swift feet like lead. All she could do was shiver as his hand touched her shoulder and turned her himself.   
  
"It... really _is_ you."   
  
Numbly, she nodded, staring at him, taking in what time had done to him. He was much older, of course. The brown hair she remembered running her fingers though, a blue ribbon in his hair from the festival, was shot with ribbons of silver, and eyes the same shade of blue were still bright and warm, glistening now. Lines told years of sadness and loss, too much for even his joyous expression to hide. Even with those changes, he was still as small as she was, straight and proud, unbent by the years.   
  
The first tear trickling down his cheek is what broke the spell of stillness. She ran, her arms wrapping about his broad waist and squeezed, burying her face against his neck, inhaling deeply of sea salt and his musk, a back draft of breath with the threat of fiery tears and sobs. Thirty years was far too long, she decided, especially knowing that all along, she could have _come home._   
  
"Where-"  
  
His question was choked off by her mouth, soft lips against chapped skin, tasting salt and fish there, the same familiar, welcome flavors from before. Her hands snaked downward to his ass, pressing him close, closer than she could remember allowing another person in the three decades since she had Exalted. It was him who broke the kiss with a gasp, his own grip settled on her back, almost clinging to her like a vine.  
  
"Later," the Sidereal whispered, "So much later and I'll answer the questions. Now, let me..." Her words faded into the void within her, the deep, hungry need bearing its teeth after years of deprivation. It had been too long. She had avoided intimacy for all these years, grieving what she had (thought to be) lost, the tears thick enough that she couldn't bear to view another in the same light as him.   
  
"You too, huh?" He whispered back, his lips against her ear. Saffy's laugh came out in a sob, leaning against his rumbling mouth, the heat he still exuded even in the cold sea air. "It's fine, Saffy, really, we... we're both right idiots, you know? Remember _last_ time we did something like this?"   
  
Saffy felt her face burn with embarrassment as she whimpered, her hands squeezing his rear again. Oh dear sweet Venus, how could she forget?   
  
A bed, that was a better idea, he was right, they were still both idiots. He gripped her hand and spun her about, pulling her behind him as he ran, she ran, back to the little house she knew to be on the edge of the shores and rocks, near the village, back to _home._   
  
It had changed, just a little, the Sidereal noticed in a distant part of her mind uncaring of the body clamoring for kisses and more, the house full of things things that much more worn, just like him, but the smells were the same, the colors in the dim hovel, smoke still drifting from the hearth. The door shut with the same rattle as she could remember, his mouth on her ear making her knees almost as weak as before, the same spots making him groan and buckle as well. The bed they staggered down onto was still a pallet, cold and coarse but for the comforter she had made back then, threadbare against her skin as he pulled away fine wools, hands splaying across her with a soft groan. Or was the sound from her own fingers, curling about an eager shaft she could scarcely see in the shadows, guiding it forward and into its own homecoming? The entrance there was frantic and fast, the Journeys far too tired from her path, her husband too excited at her return for it to last, the older mortal slumping over her as she peaked and fell, his warmth flooding in her as familiar as it had been years ago.   
  
As she caught her breath, she felt a gentle brush of lips across her brow, as light as smoke, and an equally smoky whisper across her caste mark.  
  
"Welcome home, love."  
  
Saffron Aster let her trembling lips curve into a true smile, the first one she had in years. Yes, she was home.


End file.
